Donald Trump’s Ancien Régime

Donald Trump's presidency is not a replay of twentieth-century fascism. Rather, the TV-obsessed US leader is recreating something much older, and more reminiscent of a Disney fantasy: his own princely court, complete with a beautiful princess, cowering sons, an evil adviser, and a court jester.

PRINCETON – Something like Donald Trump’s America has appeared before in history. Just think about it: Trump spends his time either in the Oval Office, which is now decorated with gold drapes; or at his Mar-a-Lago resort, which has a turret, guarded gates, and a princely, canopied bed. He is a modern-day Louis XIV, living in his own version of Versailles.

Like his historical analogue, the 45th president of the United States is obsessed with truths and lies, authenticity and fakeness. He has demanded to be carried down the Mall in a carriage procession when he makes his first official visit to the United Kingdom. And, not even 100 days into his presidency, he had issued an order for people to be killed in Syria while gushing about “the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake you’ve ever seen.”

History doesn’t repeat itself, but, as Mark Twain allegedly said, “it does rhyme.” Trump, too, rhymes with the past. But his presidency is not a replay of twentieth-century fascism, as Yale historian Timothy Snyder and others have argued. Rather, the TV-obsessed US president is recreating something much older, and more in keeping with a Disney fantasy: his own princely court.

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Wasn't it Ralph Nader "The biggest Liberal" who said the only person who should run for President should be a billionair so he wouldn's sell the american working class out. Guess what, looks like he was right.

You may be right about Drump resembling Louie more than Adolf. The monarchs of Europe were very reactionary and wanted to maintain the status quo which they thought was their royal and sacred duty. Most conservative thinking has its roots in Catholic apologia defending the divine right of kings. Today, we have evangelicals promoting "prosperity theology".

Power is always personal, even in a democracy. In a court, power is a fluid; it flows hydraulically to and from the source.

It is as changeable as the moods, relationships, and circumstances - personal and political - of one man and his domains.

All courts work in similar ways, and Trump's court has much in common with the new autocracies of Russia and China: run by tiny, opaque cliques, amassing vast wealth, while linked through hierarchical client-patron relationships, all at the mercy or the whims of the ruler.

Every visiting head of state gets a carriage ride down the Mall- Obama's kids got one, though he himself used a bullet proof limousine because of the heightened terror threat. The White House has denied Trump demanded a carriage ride. Does Trump really strike you as the kind of guy who wants to be a sitting target, in London of all places, for the sake of a lousy carriage ride offered to the Presidents of small, relatively unimportant, countries like Singapore or Nepal?

We knew Trump's tastes in interior decoration before he was elected. These tastes may have been influenced by those of the Sun King. If the Professor is right- that Trump's taste says something about the sort of regime he will create- then we are forced to conclude that a significant proportion of the American electorate wants to be ruled by a centralising dynasty which will wage territorial wars of conquest. Trump, on this view, has a moral responsibility to the electorate to conquer provinces from Canada and Mexico. He should also force Governors of American States to attend upon his sublime presence. The Governor of California will fight a duel with the Governor of Texas so as to determine who gets to be first gentleman of the bedchamber as opposed to first gentleman of the stool.
Our erudite Professor- pretending to engage in routine Trump bashing- has a delightful Firbankian wit. He writes- 'Viewing Trump’s presidency as a new iteration of princely culture, doing for Washington, DC, what Disney did for the French chateau, is not only entertaining; it offers critical insight into how Trump’s power works. As such, it helps to prescribe a course of action that so far has escaped public attention.'
What is that 'course of action'? It is writing nonsense. This is the new Fronde of the Ivy League intellectuals. They are determined to prove that they are even stupider and more irrational than Trump.

There was seemingly a funny conflict between two opposing views of the future of the US. Coastal areas backed imperial Hillary "veni, vidi, cidi" Clinton complete with her star wars imperial attires, while the interior regions backed royal Donald "golden throne" Trump. The whole thing might echo the fact that increasing globalisation including heavy weights like China and India, has as a consequence the decrease in
global influence for y the comparatively lightly inhabited West.

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